How It All Changed
by Bella of the Cats
Summary: Mario and Bowser come up with a way to stop the constant bickering over Peach: A replacement. But when all's said and done, how will the 'replacement' feel about the situation at hand?
1. How It All Began

**Luigi tried to remember how he got stuck in the current situation. How had he managed to get himself locked up in Bowser's castle? How had Mario given him away like that? More importantly, how the fuck was he going to cope with this for the rest of his life?**

**It had all begun when Mario and Bowser had arranged to hold a 'peace conference' of sorts. The goal had been to figure out a way to get Bowser to stop kidnapping Princess Peach. Mario had asked Bowser why exactly he kept kidnapping the princess and Bowser had answered with the usual excuse of unrequited love. Mario had then brought up a very good point: Bowser and Peach hardly knew each other. How in the world could he be in love with someone he hadn't even had a proper conversation with?**

**According to Mario as he recounted the meeting to everyone later on, Bowser had been absolutely stumped at this question. He decided to list off everything he loved about Peach: Her voice, her hair, her eyes, her figure… It seemed that the Koopa King was mainly interested in material things, something which failed to shock considering Bowser knew nothing of the princess's personality. Taking this to mind, Mario asked Bowser if he would be willing to accept a Peach look-alike in exchange for ceasing to terrorize the Mushroom Kingdom. Bowser had been completely against the notion at first, giving all manner of excuses, but had eventually stated that yes, he would accept a look-alike.**

**The two had agreed to meet again in a week, Mario bringing along a look-alike for Bowser to take back with him to his castle. Once Mario had finished recounting the events of the rendezvous, Peach had immediately asked, "How are you going to find a replacement in a week?" Mario had merely offered her a somewhat sad look before addressing everyone present with, "I feel that…the sacrifice…of losing someone important to me…will be worth the safety of you, Princess, and your kingdom."**


	2. How It All Escalated

Everyone present seemed to perk up in curiosity at Mario's statement. The toads looked around at each other in confusion while Toadsworth cast a nervous glance at Peach. The Princess herself took no notice of this and merely questioned Mario again, "Someone important to you? What are you implying by saying you'll lose someone important to you?" Mario cast his eyes downward, seemingly unable to bear looking at anyone by this point. Peach was not one to give up easily, however, "Mario, what exactly did you agree to?" Mario said nothing for a few seconds and the room was completely silent. Suddenly, he stood up and walked briskly out of the room, not meeting anyone's gaze.

As soon as he had closed the great doors of the conference room behind him, he heard a cacophony of hushed voices all start up at once. Abruptly, they were all silenced and the door opened to reveal a very concerned Princess Peach and an equally nervous Luigi. Mario turned to look at both with glazed eyes, something which Peach took as a bad sign. "Mario, what is it? Tell us, please." Mario slowly sank down to the floor and clutched his head in his hands. "I just… I don't know anymore. What I did… At the time, I thought it was the right choice, but now…"

Luigi couldn't stand the suspense any longer and dropped down next to Mario, grasping his shoulders and giving them a soft shake. "Mario, just tell us! I don't like seeing you so upset. It can't be that bad."

"But it IS…" Mario mumbled.

Peach ground her teeth in a rather unfitting way for a princess. She would not, under any circumstances, condone all this secrecy. Even if it was Mario's secrecy in question. "ENOUGH!" She stomped her foot for emphasis, but the brothers had already been startled by her shout, regardless of the violent gesture which followed it.

"Mario, I am the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom and you WILL tell me what you agreed to!" Peach screeched out, almost sounding like a deranged banshee. Both brothers were now cowering in fear, but Mario knew that as far as telling everyone what his plan had been, their reactions couldn't possibly be as bad as this. He took a deep breath and steadied himself.


End file.
